Biographical note: Paul Hardin, III
became the eighth president of Wofford
College on September 1,
1968. A graduate of Duke University
who was first in his class at Duke Law School,
Hardin practiced law in Birmingham
for two years before joining the faculty of the law school at Duke. He rose through the ranks, and was a full
professor in 1967 when the Wofford Board of Trustees elected him to succeed
Charles Marsh as president of the college.
He took office on September 1, 1968 and was inaugurated the following
April.

As president,
Hardin served during four years of rapid change at Wofford. The son of South Carolina’s Methodist bishop, Hardin
had to mediate between the college’s various constituencies, including the
students, faculty, alumni, and the Methodist church. He also sought to direct student activism in
a constructive manner. Under his
administration, the Code of Student Rights and Responsibilities was
written. His administration saw the
liberalization of the alcohol policy and the first moves toward full
coeducation. The college also instituted
an open speaker’s policy. None of these
moves was without controversy, and his files reflect this. Hardin’s administration saw a more free form
of debate than had existed in previous years, with Hardin himself attempting to
participate in and direct the debate.
His term ended somewhat abruptly, when he accepted the presidency of
Southern Methodist University in the spring of 1972.

Summary: President
Hardin’s office files contain correspondence relating to numerous aspects of
the college in the 1960s. Principally,
the college papers consist of correspondence with the deans, with faculty, with
alumni and donors, and with some students.
Some of his speeches and statements are also included in this
section. There is a substantial amount
of material relating to his inauguration in April 1969. Of particular interest are the letters
regarding the change in the alcohol policy and critical of speakers at the
college.

Accessioned on April 21, 1988 by transfer from the
President’s Office. Second accession in
2003-04 from the President’s Office, with papers of President Lesesne. Arranged by Phillip Stone on May 24, 1999,
and arrangement refined in 2005. Arrangement
refined in July 2011 to account for new materials from the president’s
office.